


Contamination of the Heart

by deputyydipshit



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: COVID-77 is a thing okay, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Fluffy Ending, Slow Burn, i'm no medical professional so i have no idea what i'm talking about, the quarantine fic no one asked for
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-19
Updated: 2020-03-19
Packaged: 2021-02-28 16:27:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23220178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deputyydipshit/pseuds/deputyydipshit
Summary: They hate each other and have to be quarantined together for two weeks...and there was only one bed.
Relationships: Waverly Earp/Nicole Haught
Comments: 7
Kudos: 243





	Contamination of the Heart

**Author's Note:**

> I'm definitely not sorry about this. At all

Nicole was a good doctor. She washed her hands frequently, she kept herself in extremely good health. She was cautious.

_ She was a good doctor. _

So why the hell was she sitting there, in her co-partner’s office, waiting for her test results for COVID-77?

Her head was pounding, her bones were aching. Her sneezes were frequent and her throat was dry, causing immense discomfort when coughing. She thought it was just a mild case of the flu. Her symptoms were nothing to be alarmed about. She wasn’t running a fever, but she coughed as if she smoked two packs of cigarettes a day.

The door to the room swung open and Chrissy Nedley walked in, files in hand. Nicole held the back of her hand against her forehead for the thousandth time to check her temperature. Still burning up. She sighed and reclined further back onto the examination table, covering her face with her arms.

“Give it to me straight, doc,” Nicole groaned. “Am I gonna die?”

“You’re such one for theatrics,” Chrissy rolled her eyes and sat the files on Nicole’s stomach before washing her hands. “You’re not going to die.”

“So I don’t have it?” Nicole peeked through the space between her arms, watching as Chrissy dried her hands.

“Check the files yourself,” Chrissy replied, stuffing her hands in the pockets of her coat.

Nicole sighed and sat up, holding her head when the room started spinning. Chrissy leaned against the wall and watched her friend, internally chastising her for letting such a thing happen. Nicole picked up the folder and opened it, staring down at her test results.

_ Positive. _

“Fuck,” Nicole whispered.

“It gets worse,” Chrissy said, gaining Nicole’s attention.

“How could it get worse?”

“Well, according to Wynonna, Waverly tested positive first.”

Nicole felt all the air leave her lungs. Waverly was sick. Waverly had COVID-77.  _ Waverly had COVID-77 _ .

“How did you know to test her?  _ Why _ did you test her?” Nicole asked.

“Wynonna said she’d been acting weird all weekend. She showed no symptoms but also wasn’t acting like herself.”

“And her results came back positive? You’re sure?”

“I’m positive, no pun intended,” Chrissy affirmed. “The next question is how  _ you _ got infected. Have you and Waverly been around each other lately?”

“Are you serious?” Nicole scoffed. “Of course not.”

That was a lie. They were. A couple nights ago their staff held a party to celebrate Nicole’s tenth year at the hospital. She and Waverly managed to talk for more than five minutes without wanting to kill each other, though most credit was given to the amount of alcohol already in their systems.

Waverly Earp was one of the most insufferable people to be around, Nicole thought. She was Miss Perfect, with her highlighted clipboards and chipper attitude. Even during a pandemic breakout, Waverly still managed to walk around with a smile on her face. It was disgusting.

Nicole couldn’t stand working with her, she couldn’t stand taking orders from her or even giving orders to her. They didn’t mesh well together at all, their only common thread being Wynonna. After her split with Shae, Nicole had grown resentful toward Waverly for trying to coach her through the breakup.

_ “It’ll be okay, Nicole. She wasn’t worth your time anyway.” _

Nicole had yelled something about not knowing how she felt because she’d never been married before, but she couldn’t remember the specifics. That day was the dawn of their rivalry. Waverly had grown cold, resentful of Nicole. She left the room any time Nicole entered and always made excuses for not showing up to their meetings.

The issue for Nicole was that she couldn’t be around Waverly without being distracted by her stupid face and her stupid smile. Hatred and distaste were strong words but Nicole used them in hopes of convincing herself that everyone found Waverly Earp attractive. Everyone often thought about what it would be like to kiss those pink lips and run their fingers through that chestnut brown hair. Everyone would throw away their marriage for their best friend’s sister. 

Nicole shook her head and looked back at Chrissy.

“The party, the other night, we…” Nicole sighed.

“You…?” Chrissy implored.

“We talked for a while. Sat at the bar together, shared a few drinks on my tab. We touched, but only for a handful of seconds. Her hand was on my leg, and she had whispered something in my ear,” Nicole recounted the evening step-for-step.

“Did she touch any exposed skin? Did you wash the scrubs you were wearing?”

“Of course I did,” Nicole rolled her eyes. “But...her face was  _ very _ close to mine, and I wouldn’t be surprised if her nose or her mouth was pressed to the side of my head at some point.”

“You don’t remember?” Chrissy asked, shocked.

“I’d had a few drinks by then. It was a long day, and I needed to get drunk. So no, I don’t remember. And I’m sure Waverly doesn’t either. If she does, then she’ll deny being that close to me anyway.”

“So that explains why you’re both sick. We still don’t know who gave it to whom, but that needs to be our next step. We have to isolate the host and test anyone you or Waverly might have come into contact with over the last few days.”

“So where do we go from here?” Nicole asked. “I mean, what do we do until we figure that out?”

“We quarantine,” Chrissy replied simply, holding back a grin.

“Why are you grinning? What are you hiding? Chrissy, why are you grinning?” Nicole narrowed her eyes.

“You both have very mild cases of the virus, but you still need to be quarantined. So we’ve decided–”

“–we? Who’s ‘we’?”

“Wynonna and myself have decided it best to quarantine you and Waverly...together.”

“What?” Nicole’s eyes went wide. “Oh no. No no no. No way, you are  _ not _ putting me in a room with her for two weeks!”

“We have no other option, Nicole. We have to conserve our open spaces for patients who actually need medical attention in the hospital. You and Waverly...you’re both doctors and you both know how to handle this. If you take care of yourselves then you should be able to ride it out.”

“So why does that mean we need to be together for this to happen?”

“To keep it from spreading. We have to keep patients together for the sake of discovering who spread it first. Come on, Nicole, you know this stuff. You graduated top of your class at Calgary Medical School.”

“You and Wynonna are up to something, I know you are,” Nicole rolled her eyes and stood up. “And I hate both of you for it.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. We’re just simply doing our jobs,” Chrissy shrugged.

“Don’t think I don’t know you’ve been trying to set me up with Waverly since Shae and I got divorced.”

“Again, I have no idea what you’re talking about. I’m just trying to efficiently do my job and keep you both safe. I’ve already sent Jeremy to get some things for you from home and from the store. Dad will lead you to where you need to go.”

“I hate you, I hope you know that,” Nicole sighed and made her way into the hallway, where Nedley was waiting for her.

\- - - - -

“Quarantined? With Nicole? Are you serious?” Waverly stared at her sister, wide eyed and mouth agape.

“Nedley Jr. says it’s our only option, baby girl,” Wynonna shrugged.

“But why would you put us  _ together  _ if we both have the virus?”

“Because you got each other sick so we need to figure out who had it first. You’re both low on the threat scale, but you still need to be looked after. So we’re sticking you two dumb lesbians together.”

“First of all, I’m bisexual,” Waverly held a finger up in Wynonna’s direction, “and second, how does that help anything? You know good and well we can’t stand each other.”

“Beggars can’t be choosers, Waves.”

Waverly sighed and covered her face with her coat. This was  _ not _ happening to her. She was not about to be stuck in a small room with Nicole fucking Haught for fourteen days. She was not about to be confined to the company of the woman who blames her for just about everything that goes wrong.

“You can’t stick me in a room with nothing to do.”

“Oh you’ll have plenty to do. Nicole is fairly tall, if you haven’t noticed,” Wynonna winked.

Waverly felt her face go red and was thankful her sister couldn’t see it. Nicole was...very attractive but was also  _ very _ annoying and such a smart ass. She got cocky over the smallest things, like having more patients in a day than Waverly had, and it annoyed Waverly to no end.

“She might be an attractive redhead who was recently divorced a year and three months ago but that doesn’t mean I want to sleep with her.”

“Oh so you  _ do _ think she’s attractive, eh?” Wynonna wiggled her eyebrows. “And I see you’re still not keeping track of the days that have passed since she and Shae cut the rope.”

“Definitely not,” Waverly confirmed.

“Didn’t think so,” Wynonna suppressed a laugh and rolled her eyes.

“If I apparently had it first and got Nicole sick, then how the hell do you not have it? I’ve spent more time with you than I have with her,” Waverly questioned and sat up straight.

“The virus is alcohol sensitive or whatever Haught Pants likes to say. I drink a shit ton of whiskey every night and keep a bottle of Purell next to my bed. Put the pieces together, dorkus.”

“Sometimes I still don’t understand how you even made it to medical school,” Waverly rolled her eyes.

“It was all bullshitting and cheating,” Wynonna said sarcastically. “Now get up. Doc’s here and he’s going to take you to your new temporary home.”

Waverly reluctantly rose from her seat and followed Wynonna out into the hallway. Doc smiled at her after pulling the mask he wore down to his chin and gave a slight nod to Wynonna.

“Miss Waverly,” he said and motioned for the brunette to follow him.

Waverly walked a few steps behind Doc, shoving her hands into the pockets of her scrubs, and wished for the sweet release of death upon seeing Nedley and Nicole not far in front of them.

_ This should be  _ great _. _

They got onto an elevator and rode to the top floor of the hospital, where all other patients in quarantine were being kept. It was an awkward ride, full of silence and tension. The elevator dinged and the doors opened, the four exiting the metal box and starting down the long hallway. Doc and Nedley stopped at the door and looked at each other before turning to face the two women behind them. They looked upon their protégés with disappointment and worry, hoping they would learn their lesson and keep each other safe.

“You girls should have known better, but I wish for a speedy recovery for you both,” Nedley said in his usual gruff voice and tossed Doc another glance before returning to his office.

“It’ll be over before you know it,” Doc offered a smile and glanced back at the door before leaving Nicole and Waverly alone.

The way Nedley and Doc were acting didn’t sit right with either of them. Something felt off. Nicole glanced at Waverly, who was already staring at her in disbelief and confusion, with just a hint of annoyance. Nicole nodded, understanding and feeling the exact same way, and stepped up to the door. Waverly followed suit and pushed the large white door open.

They stood there and stared into the room. It was a small room with a table, bathroom, and TV. It was spacious enough for one person to stay in, and barely enough for two people to co-exist without stepping all over each other. It was a nice room, but Nicole and Waverly couldn’t move their eyes past the back left corner.

There, pressed up against the wall and in the corner, stood one single bed.

“Oh fuck me,” Nicole mumbled.

\- - - - -

“I brought as much as I could fit in your duffle bag, and I brought some snacks and movies for you guys to watch if you really get bored.”

"And Calamity?”

“Your mom has her for the time being, she’ll be safe.”

“Did you happen to grab my laptop, by any chance?”

“And all of your chargers, yes.”

“Thank you, Jeremy. I’m sorry you had to go out of your way for all of this. Let me take you out for drinks once this all passes, yeah?”

“You don’t need to worry about anything, Nicole,” Jeremy smiled brightly. “Our main priority right now is getting you and Waverly back to health. We can worry about drinks later.”

“I’d hug you right now, if I could. So please accept this gesture in place of such physical affection,” Nicole held her hand up and gave Jeremy the Vulcan hand sign.

Jeremy laughed and held his hand up, returning the gesture. Nicole smiled and gathered her things from the floor, stepping back as the door closed and watching Jeremy retreat down the hallway until he turned a corner. Behind her, Nicole could hear Waverly rummaging through her things and mumbling quietly to herself, clearly aggravated by something.

“You okay over there, Princess?” Nicole asked and sat her bag down on the table.

“Shut up,” Waverly snapped and glared at the redhead before returning to digging through her things.

“You know you can ask for help right?” Nicole walked over to where Waverly was kneeling on the ground and crossed her arms.

“Don’t touch me,” Waverly snapped again.   


“Wasn’t planning on it,” Nicole held her hands up in surrender. “Was just gonna ask-”

“My headphones. I can’t find my headphones,” Waverly cut Nicole off, saying the first thing to come to her mind.

“Don’t play dumb, they’re around your neck,” Nicole raised an eyebrow.

Waverly sighed and looked up at Nicole, sitting down fully on the floor. “I can’t find my ring.”

“The one you always wear on your right hand?” Nicole asked as if it were normal for her to know that.

“Yeah...my father’s ring. I always wear it for good luck. Wynonna said it was in here, but I can’t find it.”

“Alright, well first off you’ve got to stop tossing things all over the place. You’re just making a bigger mess,” Nicole knelt down across from Waverly.

“I’ll clean it up,” Waverly rolled her eyes.

“I know you will, you neat freak,” Nicole offered a small smile. “You said Wynonna packed your things, which means it’s not going to be where you expect it to be.”

Waverly took a deep breath and nodded before unzipping one of the side pockets to her bag. The ring fell out, clattering to the floor, and Waverly sighed. She picked it up and slid it onto her finger, holding that hand close to her chest.

“Thank you, Nicole…” Waverly looked up but stopped when she saw Nicole wasn’t there anymore. Moments later she heard the shower turn on from the bathroom and sighed.

“It’s always one step forward, two steps back with her,” Waverly whispered and picked up her things.

After changing out of her scrubs, Waverly sat down on the bed with a thermometer. She stuck it into her mouth and waited for it to beep, praying her temperature hadn’t increased. A minute later, the thermometer went off and Waverly removed it from her mouth, checking the number. It was still normal.

Waverly hummed and started at the numbers until they went away. She stood up and went to put the thermometer away. With Nicole still in the shower, Waverly was left alone with her thoughts. Something about this whole situation seemed off to Waverly, like something wasn’t completely adding up.

Wynonna seemed extra annoying that morning, happier and more talkative than usual. It could’ve been because she and Doc were officially “on” again, but it seemed like it was something else for sure. When she mentioned Nicole, she seemed smug about it. Like she knew the mere mention of the redhead would turn Waverly to mush.

Nicole wasn’t the kind of person Waverly would willingly spend time with, and Wynonna knew that. So why the  _ fuck  _ would she and Chrissy both go behind her back and do this to her?

_ “You have  _ got  _ to get laid, baby girl. You’ve got all that pent up aggravation you need to let out.” _

Waverly rolled her eyes as Wynonna’s words played on repeat in her head. She had a thing for mentioning her getting laid and Nicole in the same sentence quite frequently and it annoyed Waverly to no end. She didn’t need to get laid, and she definitely didn’t need to sleep with Nicole.

Who would want to sleep with Nicole anyway? With her long legs and strong arms...those damn hands that worked wonders during surgeries and on other wounds. Those  _ fingers _ that would surely elicit animalistic sounds from anyone on the receiving end of them. And her mouth...fuck did she ever have a mouth on her. One that never shut up about statistics and numbers, one that never ceased to complain about Waverly screwing something up. One that Waverly wanted on her body at all times.

“What the…” Waverly squinted and shook her head, shaking the thoughts from her head instantly. She bit her lip and squeezed her thighs together, begging the feeling she felt in her stomach to go away.

Aiming to distract herself, Waverly walked over to the table where Nicole’s things were. She had placed a stack of movies on top of the table next to her laptop, and Waverly picked them up. She flipped through the stack, surprised at the amount of 80s classics she saw. Movies like  _ Footloose _ and  _ Pretty in Pink _ were timeless classics, but definitely not things she saw Nicole being into. Guilty pleasures perhaps? Waverly giggled quietly to herself.

“See something funny?” Nicole asked from behind her. Waverly jumped, scared, and dropped the movies back onto the table.

“I was just looking through the movies. Seeing if you had anything good to watch. You don’t,” Waverly shrugged and turned around.

“Oh no? You’re really going to stand there and tell me that  _ The Breakfast Club _ isn’t good? Wow, I’m shocked,” Nicole scoffed and placed her hands on her hips.

Waverly looked up at her and suddenly found herself short of breath. Nicole stood there in nothing but a sports bra and a pair of boxers. Her chin-length hair stuck out at odd angles, clearly the result of her running a towel through it. Waverly swallowed hard and felt the familiar heat settle at between her legs once more at the sight of Nicole’s toned stomach.

_ Holy fudgenuggets. _

“TV is all yours,” Waverly squeaked out and silently cursed herself. She cleared her throat and stared at Nicole. “I’ve got a Netflix subscription anyway.”

“If you can’t appreciate the art of Hubert Ross, Howard Deutch, or John Hughes, then what can you possibly be watching on Netflix?” Nicole asked incredulously after Waverly brushed past her.

“ _ Grey’s Anatomy _ ,” Waverly replied. She heard Nicole snicker from behind and she abruptly turned to face her. “What?”

“That’s what you choose to watch?” Nicole asked, her back to Waverly, and dug through her bag to get a pair of sweatpants out.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, out of the thousands of movies and shows there are on Netflix, you choose to watch  _ Grey’s _ ? That poor excuse of a doctor show?”

“I’m sorry, but the last time I checked, I didn’t have to verify what I watch on my free time with someone who still uses DVDs,” Waverly folded her arms.

Nicole stiffened and sucked in a sharp breath, pulling her shirt down and quickly turning around. She marched up to Waverly, eyes narrowed, and shoved a finger in her chest.

“Those were my father’s discs. They were everything to him, and I cherish them almost as much as I did him before he passed. Don’t ever make fun of my DVDs again or I swear to God, Earp.”

Waverly stared up at Nicole with wide eyes, watching her fight back tears. Well, that’s one way to make yourself out to be a jerk.  _ Nice going, Waverly. _

Waverly took a step back and reached for her tablet, eyes not leaving Nicole’s. The redhead still towered over her with angry eyes and fists at her sides. Waverly had struck a nerve she didn’t even know existed and she quickly made a mental note to never cross that path again.

Nicole clenched her jaw and abruptly turned back to her things. She gathered them and made her way over to the chair on the other side of the room, across from the TV, sitting down and covering herself with a blanket. Waverly sighed and glanced over at Nicole, watching her scroll through her phone.

“You...you can have the bed, if you want it,” Waverly offered, but Nicole didn’t reply.

This was going to be a long fourteen days.

**COVID77 QUARANTINE DAY 4 [0400 HOURS]**

Nicole couldn’t sleep. The chair she had found herself chained to for the past four days had long since grown uncomfortable, so she had moved to the cool tile floor in an attempt to change things up. It wasn’t much better, but it was something. It was a change, something she hadn’t seen much of at all lately. They were being watched like hawks by the doctors, being forced to eat disgusting hospital food with no flavor and only being allowed to drink water or milk with their meals. Nicole was tired of having her blood pressure monitored and her temperature taken, having pills shoved down her throat in an attempt to combat a fever she hadn’t even had since the first day.

If Nicole didn’t know any better, she would say everyone was overreacting. But she was a doctor and she  _ did _ know better. This virus was a sneaky killer, taking hold of anyone it could no matter age or state of health. It was both scary and infuriating to her to know she was stupid enough to let herself get infected. It was confirmed that Waverly had been sick first, having gotten it from another patient of hers who also tested positive a few days prior, and Nicole was angry with her as well. How stupid do you have to be to let yourself get infected like that?

_ She’s not stupid _ , the rational part of Nicole’s brain tried to tell her.

_ Well what else would she be? _

_ You let yourself get infected like that, you weren’t being careful and look what happened. _

_ You can’t blame Waverly for being sick, you can’t blame her for getting  _ you _ sick, when you were being just as careless as she was. _

Nicole sighed quietly and covered her face. Waverly had been very quiet the past few days, really sticking to herself and her work. It surprised Nicole that the two of them were actually managing to co-exist without wanting to murder each other. The only times they spoke to each other was when they needed to shower or when Waverly tried to convince Nicole to take the bed. She declined every time, saying Waverly needed it more when in reality it was because she didn’t want Waverly sleeping on the floor or the stupidly uncomfortable chair.

Not that she cared or anything.

She didn’t care for Waverly one bit, which is why when she saw the bathroom light switch on and heard Waverly throwing up, she got up and ran to the bathroom immediately. Waverly was kneeling before the toilet, palms pressed flat against her thighs and her eyes closed tightly.

“Waverly, hey, what’s going on?” Nicole asked and slowly approached the other woman slowly.

“Room is spinning...very dizzy,” Waverly replied.

“Did you eat at all yesterday?

Waverly shook her head and took a deep breath. Nicole sighed and knelt down next to her, placing a gentle hand on her lower back.

“I’m assuming that sigh is your way of telling me I’m a dumbass?” Waverly huffed and sat fully on the floor, leaning her back against the wall.

“Kind of, yeah,” Nicole replied and glanced at Waverly. “Why didn’t you eat?”

“Wasn’t hungry? I don’t know,” Waverly shrugged. “This whole thing is messing with my head more than anything.”

“I get you, bitch,” Nicole gave a brief smile. “It’s been a bigger mental strain than physical.”

“Did you just call me bitch?” Waverly opened one eye and looked at Nicole, who was grinning at her like an idiot. “Okay, how much cough medicine did you consume last night?”

“More than necessary, but hey! I haven’t coughed have I?”

“No, but you’re acting weird.”

“What do you mean? I’m just trying to make sure you’re okay. I heard you dry heaving in here and wanted to check on you,” Nicole defended.

“Which is exactly what I’m talking about! You haven’t come anywhere close to me in three days! And suddenly you want to help me? What, are you trying to prove that you’re a better doctor than me or something?”

“I’m trying to  _ help _ you, Waverly. Why does it always have to turn into a competition with you?” Nicole stood up.

“With me? Are you kidding? You’re the one who would literally  _ run down the hallway _ to grab files before I could, just so you could say you had more patients than I did,” Waverly slowly rose to her feet.

“Yet you’re the one who hooked up with my assistant because you saw she was coming onto me.”

“Don’t you dare bring Rosita into this,” Waverly narrowed her eyes. “You know damn well what happened between her and I.”

“Do I? I don’t suppose I do. You blatantly sabotaged my relationship with a coworker to fuel your fantasy of being better than me. Which, by the way, you’ll never be,” Nicole turned and stormed out of the bathroom, stifling a cough, and sat back in her chair.

**COVID77 QUARANTINE DAY 8 [1700 HOURS]**

They were just over a week into their quarantine and tension was still high. After their argument a couple nights prior, Nicole and Waverly hadn’t spoken much. Not to each other, not to Wynonna, not to the other doctors. They felt defeated and refused to acknowledge that maybe they were both overreacting. Waverly snapped and Nicole retaliated, they both said and thought things that they probably shouldn’t have, but it was so easy to get lost in the moment and fly off the handle.

Nicole called it stubborn, Wynonna called it assholery. Two jerks being assholes and refusing to admit when they were wrong.

“You’re stuck in there together, the least you can do is try and be friends,” Wynonna said, lightly kicking Nicole.

“I’m not the one you should be talking to about being friends with her,” Nicole rolled her eyes. “She’s the stubborn one.”

“You’re  _ both _ stubborn,” Wynonna replied.

“I was trying to help her when she was throwing up and she accused me of doing it just to prove I was better than her.”

“Because that’s how she is, Nicole!” Wynonna whisper-yelled, eyes shifting to Waverly still asleep on the bed. “She has always had to fight for her place in this world. When we were little, when she was in medical school, and even when she met you.”

“But why? She’s miss perfect. She’s had everything fall right into her lap as she pleases,” Nicole argued weakly, crossing her arms.

“That’s the image she paints for everyone to believe. Maybe you should ask her about it sometime. It’ll explain a lot of the hostility and snide remarks.”

Nicole bit her lip and glanced back at Waverly, watching her chest rise and fall slowly. The barest of smiles crossed her face and she sighed.

“And while you’re at it, maybe you can tell her your deal too. She doesn’t know about your past,” Wynonna added before lightly squeezing Nicole’s shoulder and leaving the room.

Nicole slowly walked over to the bed and leaned down over Waverly, pulling the blanket up to her shoulders and brushing some hair away from her face. Waverly hummed quietly and smiled, causing Nicole to chuckle quietly.

“See something funny?” Waverly mocked Nicole’s words from the other day, eyes still closed.

“I thought you were asleep?” Nicole questioned.

“And I thought you hated me,” Waverly fired back.

“I don’t hate you,” Nicole sighed. “I hate that you’re better than me at...well, just about everything.”

“What do you mean?” Waverly pushed up on her elbows and looked at Nicole with a raised eyebrow.

“Well, before, I was under the impression that you were Miss Perfect. That you had everything you wanted and never had any issues. That you were someone who never had to worry about a thing. But now I know, thanks to Wynonna, that you’re not.”

“That’s an understatement,” Waverly rolled her eyes and sat up fully.

“Can you tell me why?” Nicole asked carefully. “Wynonna said to ask and-”

“I know she did,” Waverly nodded. “It’s just a very long story.”

“Waverly, we have time,” Nicole chuckled. “Another week, at least.”

“I don’t think it’s very important to know my baggage,” Waverly said seriously and looked at Nicole.

“I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours?” Nicole wagered.

“I was always pushed aside as a kid,” Waverly started softly. “Daddy never paid much attention to me and Mamma left when I was little.”

Nicole sat on the other end of the bed, crossing her legs and waited for Waverly to continue.

“Willa was always his top priority. She’s the one who got the praise, the better education, the love and affection. She was the oldest and therefore the most important to our name.”

Nicole listened as Waverly launched into the emotional turmoil that came from a neglectful father. She told Nicole about her eldest sister, Willa, and how she acted as if Waverly didn’t exist. Her relationship with Wynonna wasn’t always the way it is now, they used to keep their distance. Willa was Ward’s favorite, and Wynonna was Willa’s favorite. Everyone had someone...except for Waverly. She was convinced her life couldn’t get much worse until she was proven wrong one night when their father was shot dead by a home intruder. Willa went missing and Wynonna took off soon after, leaving Waverly completely alone and struggling to adapt to having a normal childhood with her aunt and uncle.

“Wynonna came back when I was just starting college. Turns out she had met Doc along the way during her travels to Greece and Spain, and they’d both been studying medicine online.”

“Wait wait, Wynonna? Studying? While in Greece?” Nicole scoffed. “Yeah right.”

“That’s what I said!” Waverly threw her hands in the air. “I still don’t know why or how she chose to be a nurse.”

“It’s because of you,” Nicole replied. Waverly looked at her, confused. “She told me, I mean. She’s told me she wanted to go to medical school to get closer to you, but I had no idea she’d left the fucking country to do it.” so.”

“Yeah well, her leaving was one of the worst things she could have done. I was left alone, isolated in my own thoughts. I never had a bigger sister to protect me or to have fun with. It really messed with me mentally,” Waverly admitted.

“I get that, I really do,” Nicole nodded.

“What about you? What’s this air of mystery you have about you?” Waverly motioned vaguely to Nicole. “You don’t just get that way over night.”

Nicole stared down at her hands, trying to gather her thoughts before speaking. Waverly waited patiently, giving her time like Nicole gave her. Finally lifting her head, Nicole locked eyes with Waverly and took a deep breath.

“My mom...she wasn’t the best person in the world,” she started. “She was very hostile...very abusive toward my father and I. She left when I was a junior in high school after telling me my dreams of going to medical school were so crazy because I would never be able to make it.”

“Nicole…” Waverly frowned.

“My dad, though...he was always supportive. He was there for me through everything, so I decided to be there for  _ him _ through everything. When he married my step mom, he expected me to be upset. I wasn’t,” Nicole shook her head. “She was the best thing to ever happen to him.”

“You don’t think that was you who was the best thing to happen to him?” Waverly asked.

“No, you see, he and I had a special bond,” Nicole chuckled. “We acted like best friends more than father and daughter. He would always say how much of a burden I was to him, but we both knew it was a joke.”

Nicole’s face grew solemn, her eyebrows knitting together. Waverly reached across the bed and placed a hand on her knee, letting Nicole know to take her time.

“I stopped taking it as a joke when I got older and more serious about medical school. I knew how much it cost, and we weren’t the wealthiest family out there.”

“He joked about that with you? But you said he knew how important it was to you.”

“He did,” Nicole nodded. “Boy did he ever...which is why he sacrificed so much of his time to help me get in and to help me afford it. But the jokes didn’t stop. ‘You’re becoming a real financial pain in my ass, Nikky. Hope this dream of yours is worth it.’ That was the last thing he said to me before he…” Nicole paused and bit her tongue. She hadn’t talked about her father’s death since it happened.

“Lunch is here!” Wynonna yelled from the other side of the door before knocking and entering.

“I can’t,” Nicole whispered and shook her head. She wiped her eyes and stood up before Waverly could say anything, walking to the door and meeting Wynonna halfway.

Waverly watched from her spot on the bed and sighed. It wasn’t much progress, but progress is progress.

**COVID77 QUARANTINE DAY 10 [0600 HOURS]**

_...but what we found out is that each one of us is a brain, and an athlete, and a basketcase, a princess, and a criminal. Does that answer your question? Sincerely yours, the Breakfast Club _

Waverly glanced over at Nicole, whose eyes were glued to the screen, in disbelief. She can’t believe she had let herself be talked into watching one of Nicole’s horrible movies at 6 in the morning.

But damn was it worth it to see the look on her face.

After the other day, when Nicole had opened up about her father, neither of them mentioned what they had discussed. Waverly told Nicole everything she needed to know, and she understood if Nicole wasn’t ready to tell her about her father. It was hard to bite her tongue and give Nicole time when all she wanted to do was help. From the start of their rocky relationship at the hospital, all Waverly wanted to do was help. That’s why she became a doctor, after all.

They argued on just about everything up until this point, creating pointless drama and starting meaningless arguments over things everyone agreed were minute on the larger scale of things. When she tested positive for the virus, when Wynonna told her she was to be quarantined with Nicole for two weeks, Waverly was convinced it would be the end for her. She was convinced that Nicole would kill her before the fourteen days were over and would hide her body so she didn’t get caught.

Okay, so maybe that was a bit of an over exaggeration, but her point still stood that she and Nicole wouldn’t be able to live in confinement together peacefully for that time. She was wrong, though. They were both very wrong.

Nicole was complex, much like Wynonna had told her several times in the past, and Waverly was finally starting to understand why she was always so uptight. She felt the need to prove herself to everyone to show that she belonged there.

Just like Waverly did.

“Waves?” Nicole waved her hand in front of the brunette’s face.

“Huh?” Waverly blinked out of her daze and saw Nicole looking at her, concerned.

“I said we can go back to sleep if you want to. I know you didn’t want to watch that movie to begin with, but I-”

“No,” Waverly shook her head.

“No?”

“Let’s watch another. Put  _ Footloose _ in.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yes, Nicole,” Waverly smiled.

Truth was that Waverly didn’t want to go back to sleep because she didn’t want to leave Nicole’s side. Her fever had spiked again, and her cough had gotten worse, and Waverly was beginning to worry. She had been handling the virus fine, she was no longer experiencing any serious symptoms, but she also had a healthier immune system than Nicole did. It was terrifying, but she wasn’t letting the fear show.

“I won’t argue with that,” Nicole grinned and grabbed the disc, inserting it into the player. She sat back down and looked at Waverly on the floor. She looked comfortable, but not comfortable enough.

“Hey, come up here,” Nicole said once the movie started.

“I don’t think I can fit,” Waverly giggled.

“But I’m cold,” Nicole pouted and Waverly was in the chair in seconds.

Nicole smiled smugly and pulled the blanket up to their shoulders. The movie progressed and Nicole found herself less and less interested. Her thoughts turned from Kevin Bacon’s dancing to her health. It was a malicious set of thoughts that overtook her mind in that moment, thinking about cures and death and everything in between. Her mindless finger drumming on the arm of the chair turned into her nervous habit of bouncing her leg. It didn’t take long for Waverly to catch on and pause the movie.

“Nicole? Hey, Nicole, look at me,” she said softly. “You’re okay. Just breathe. What’s going on?”

“My dad died on duty,” Nicole said after a long moment of silence.

“Was he a cop?”

Nicole shook her head. “Fire Marshall. A building collapsed on top of him when he was trying to rescue someone. When he was trying to rescue me.”

“What…”

“I was at Ghost River Medical School when someone set one of the residence halls on fire, my building. I was so stupid, getting drunk with some friends and not being able to find my way out on my own. He had to go in and save me. I made it, but he didn’t.”

“You mean...Nicolas was...he was your father?” Waverly asked, baffled. “The Great Fire of Ghost River County was at  _ your _ dorm building?”

“He sacrificed his life to save mine at the expense of my education. I haven’t had a sip of alcohol since.”

“But the other week...when we were celebrating you at the bar, you had a lot to drink. Why?”

“Twelve years,” was all Nicole said before standing up and walked to the bathroom, wiping her eyes.

Waverly watched her with worried eyes, but knew better than to follow.

**COVID77 QUARANTINE DAY 12 [0700 HOURS]**

“Why are you wearing my shirt?” Nicole asked from the bed when Waverly walked out of the shower.

“It was hanging on the door and I had forgotten to bring a shirt in there with me so,” Waverly shrugged. “I know you don’t mind.”

“I don’t mind at all,” Nicole admired the shorter woman as she slowly walked toward the bed. It dawned on Nicole, then, that Waverly wasn’t wearing any pants. The shirt was only buttoned halfway and left a lot of skin exposed for Nicole to trail her eyes over.

“That’s what I thought,” Waverly bit her lip as she slowly crawled on top of Nicole, placing a leg on either side of her hips and straddling her.

“How was your shower?” Nicole asked, rubbing her hands gently up and down Wavery’s exposed thighs.

“Lonely,” Waverly hummed.

“You said that yesterday,” Nicole pointed out.

“Yes, and? It was lonely today too.”

“You’re a clingy one, aren’t you?” Nicole chuckled, but it quickly turned into a severe coughing fit.

“Baby…” Waverly whispered so quietly that Nicole didn’t even hear her. “Sit up, come on.”

Nicole’s state of health had continued to rapidly decline despite her growing relationship with Waverly. It almost seemed as if the closer they got, the worse Nicole felt. How’s that for irony?

“Maybe I’m just allergic to you,” Nicole joked but Waverly didn’t take it as such. Tears sprang to her eyes and Nicole’s arms were around her in an instant. “Hey...I was just kidding. I’m sorry,” she whispered into Waverly’s hair.

“Why aren’t you getting better?” Waverly whispered into Nicole’s chest. “Why isn’t the medicine working?”

“I don’t know, love, but I’m going to be just fine.”

“You better be,” Waverly lifted her head and kissed Nicole’s cheek. “Because we have a lot we need to do once we get out of here.”

“Like what?” Nicole raised an eyebrow.

“I need to kiss you,” Waverly stated simply, her face only inches from Nicole’s.

“The feeling is mutual, Wave, but I don’t think right now is the time for that. I don’t need to get you sick again. You’re getting better.”

Waverly groaned and leaned her forehead against Waverly’s. “I know, I know.”

“Is everybody decent?” Chrissy asked from the door, her eyes shielded by her clipboard.

“Funny joke,” Nicole laughed sarcastically and tightened her arms around Waverly, using one hand to rub her back.

“Glad to see your sense of humor is still intact,” Chrissy nodded. “We have your weekly results.”

“And?” Waverly asked, not moving from her spot.

“Waverly, you’re clear and good to go home. You just need to go talk with Doc and Jeremy so you can sign some papers, and then you’re free to go.”

“And Nicole?” Waverly asked.

“Nicole’s quarantine is being extended,” Chrissy replied. “For another week.”

Waverly gripped the back of Nicole’s shirt tightly, closing her eyes to hold back tears.

“Your case seems to be more severe than we initially thought. We need to run some more tests and hopefully administer the potential cure we’ve just got word about.”

“I’m not leaving her,” Waverly stated firmly.

“Waverly, you have to. Otherwise you’ll get infected again and God knows what kind of mess that could turn into.”

“No,” Waverly grumbled.

“Waves, baby, look at me,” Nicole kissed the side of Waverly’s head and waited for her to look up. “You have to go. I’m going to be okay, I promise. You can come visit until I get out.”

“But…”

“And when I do get out, you’ll be the first I call, and I’ll take you out on the best date of your life. How’s that sound?”

“Okay,” Waverly gave in. “Fine.”

“Thank you for cooperating, and I apologize for the trouble this might be causing with...whatever is happening between you two,” Chrissy said, trying to hold back a smile.

Waverly left later that day, leaving Nicole alone with Wynonna and Chrissy to run a series of tests on her. She was heavily questioned about her blossoming relationship with Waverly, but she gave them no definite answers. She wasn’t in the mood to talk about anything, and she was already missing Waverly.

Day 21 couldn’t come soon enough.

**COVID77 QUARANTINE DAY 20 [2000 HOURS]**

“Alright, Nicole, everything seems to check out,” Chrissy smiled. “Your temperature has been consistently normal for three days, your blood pressure is back down, and you seem to have gotten rid of that cough.”

“I feel better than I have in weeks,” Nicole admitted. “I really thought I was a goner for a while there.”

“We were all worried,” Wynonna said. “Waverly especially.”

“Waverly…” Nicole whispered and stood up from the examination table. “Where is she? Is she here?”

“I sent her home earlier. She hadn’t slept in days. She looked like she was on the brink of passing out.”

“When can I get out of here?” Nicole checked the time on her phone.

“We need you to fill out some paperwork and then you can get your things and go,” Chrissy replied.

Nicole had never filled out paperwork so quickly in her life. Wynonna smiled as she gave Nicolej her keys and paired it with a wink. She dropped the keys into Nicole’s hand and gripped her wrist. Nicole looked up at her best friend and bit her lip.

“Treat her right, Haught. If you don’t, just know I sleep with a scalpel under my pillow and I’m not afraid to use it.”

Nicole cleared her throat and nodded. “Noted,” she croaked out.

Wynonna nodded and released Nicole, slapping a hand on her back as she passed by to get to her office. Nicole winced and hurried to change into a pair of jeans and the flannel Waverly had stolen from her the week before. She fixed her hair in the mirror, smiled at herself, and headed for the elevators.

She spoke briefly to Nedley on her way down to the lobby, promising she was going to take a few additional days off to catch up on work and rest. He squeezed her shoulder and gave her one of his famous pep-talks that consisted of a short nod and smile. She passed by Doc in the lobby and hugged him for a minute before stepping back.

“Miss Haught, I am so glad you were able to recover fully. We were all worried about you.”

“Me too, John Henry, me too,” Nicole smiled. “I’ll see you next week. Take care of Wynonna for me, and make sure she doesn’t cause  _ too _ much trouble?”

“You have my word,” Doc placed his hand over his heart and raised three fingers in the air. “Scout’s honor.”

Nicole chuckled and rolled her eyes, waving him off as she made her way for the doors. Once outside the building, Nicole practically ran to her car. She threw her things in the tunk and got behind the wheel, starting the engine and driving straight for Waverly’s apartment. She didn’t even bother tuning the radio on, not caring about anything but getting to Waverly. The drive went smoothly, the late hour making it easier to maneuver the roads since traffic was non-existent. She got three red lights and cursed every time she encountered another stop sign. Fifteen minutes and one road rage later, Nicole found herself standing outside of Waverly’s apartment.

She knocked. She waited. There was no answer.

She knocked again. She waited. Again, there was no answer.

She knocked  _ again _ . She waited. She-

“Who the hell is it?!” Waverly’s voice came from the distance. “Can’t a girl shower in peace?! I mean come-” the door swung open and Waverly froze when she saw Nicole standing on the other side.

Nicole’s eyes went wide and she took a step back. There Waverly stood, hair wet and body wrapped in a towel, dripping water onto the floor. Nicole ran a hand through her hair and stared at the ground, trying to gather her courage. She made a plan on the way there, but it all went out the window when Waverly opened the door half naked. Being isolated and deprived of physical affection for nearly a month was really starting to make her feel desperate. But she craved it.

She craved Waverly.

“Nicole...what are you doing here? I told Wynonna to tell me when you were being released.”

“I told her not to tell you.”

“Why?” Waverly crossed her arms.

“I wanted to surprise you,” Nicole looked up. “And because I couldn’t wait any longer.”

“Wait any longer for what?”

“To do something I didn’t know I’ve been wanting to do for a long time,” Nicole stepped into the apartment and took Waverly’s face in her hands, crashing their lips together.

Waverly stumbled back a few steps, backing into the wall, and wrapped her arms around Nicole’s neck. Nicole’s body pressed against Waverly’s, keeping the towel from falling to the floor, but Waverly couldn’t bring herself to care even if it did fall. She couldn’t bring herself to care about anything when Nicole’s lips were working wonders against her own, eventually making their way to her jaw and down her neck. Waverly gasped quietly and placed a hand on Nicole’s shoulder, pushing her back slightly.

“Hold on, hold on,” Waverly panted. “You said you weren’t being released until tomorrow.”

“And I wasn’t until this morning. They ran all the tests, took all the samples, and said I was fine.”

“Fuck...Nicole,” Waverly whined when she felt Nicole’s mouth on her neck again. “Nicole, wait, w-we need to talk.”

“Talk about what? I thought we agreed this was what we wanted,” Nicole said and gently nipped at Waverly’s bottom lip.

“It is!” Waverly rushed out. “It is, but I just...we need to...talk.”

“I don’t recall you wanting to talk last week when you tried to kiss me,” Nicole pointed out.

“Stop exposing me,” Waverly shifted uncomfortably, her face growing red.

“Oh, baby, I’ve barely started to expose you,” Nicole smirked, gently tugging on the towel around Waverly’s torso.

“You know, I was trying to be professional about all of this, but I don’t think it’s getting me anywhere,” Waverly deadpanned.

“You’ll get a lot further if you just stop talking,” Nicole quirked an eyebrow.

“Oh yeah? How much further?”

“Depends,” Nicole pecked Waverly’s lips. “How far is your bedroom from here?”

“You are  _ so _ insufferable,” Waverly lightly smacked Nicole’s chest.

“Yes, but you can’t deny that I have contaminated your heart,” Nicole winked.

“I hate you.”

“You still want to get in my pants though.”

“No one is getting into anyone’s pants,” Waverly said. “It’s a matter of getting you  _ out _ of your pants and  _ into _ my bed.”

“Then what are we still doing out here?”

“Someone won’t shut up long enough for us to get to that point.”

“Well, why don’t you just make me stop talking, then? Hm?” Nicole grinned.

“You don’t have to ask me twice,” Waverly replied, pulling Nicole back down to meet her kiss.

Nicole and Waverly had experienced several life changing events in the past few weeks. THey learned a lot of things about themselves and each other, and discovered that it’s okay to loathe someone, just as long as you have a good reason to. They also learned that the only thing worth testing positive for was love.

**Author's Note:**

> Come yell at me about this on twitter! @deputyydipshit
> 
> Kudos and comments are always appreciated!


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